Bhubaneswar, Sep 9 (IANS): With the lifting of weekend shutdown in Odisha, the Jagannath Temple in Puri will now open for devotees on Saturdays too.

The temple was reopened for devotees on August 16, but since then, had remained closed for the devotees on the weekends.

The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) on Wednesday issued a fresh SOP for opening of the temple for devotees. As per the SOP, which will come into force on September 13, the temple will remain closed to the public on all Sundays in order to sanitise the premises to contain the spread of coronavirus.

The darshan timing has also been extended by another two hours. Now, devotees will be allowed to have darshan from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on all days, when the temple is open.

The temple will also remain closed on major festivals in order to avoid any spike in transmission of Covid-19 on account of large gatherings that are anticipated on such occasions.

All the other restrictions and rules imposed earlier will continue to remain in force. All devotees will have to produce the final Covid-19 vaccination certificate or Covid-19 negative certificate (RT-PCR) of testing done within 96 hours prior to their visit.

It is mandatory for all devotees to wear masks at all times, inside & outside the temple and they should sanitise their hands before entering the temple. They also have to maintain physical distance inside the temple.